Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, June 2, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, June 2, 2018 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE... The Social Side By Deanne Davis

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES


THE POWER OF LETTING GO

Yoga is, in many ways, about becoming free of struggle. First, we gain 
awareness. We wake up to what’s going on in our bodies and minds and 
discover how things are affecting us. Only then, can we determine what we 
need to let go. Sometimes, this ‘need to let go’ realization almost occurs after 
the fact. Have you every noticed how hard you were struggling until you 
were not struggling anymore? Similar idea with letting go. The tighter the 
grip, the harder to let go and the greater the need to release. Ideally, we’d 
identify tension within us as it builds. There’s good news though, Yoga has 
many practices to assist this letting go process. 

 Accessing a nourishing, full, deep breath and finding a sense of relaxation 
are probably two of the most important remedies. Have you noticed how a deep breath can change things? Finding 
even, smooth breaths changes our physiology and greatly affects the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous 
Systems. When we breathe in a deliberate way, the energy and the mind are soothed and refined. The road to 
freedom and letting go can be found this way. 

 With the breath as a catalyst, yoga allows us to find relaxation and cultivate a sense of ease. It’s when we find the 
rhythm of relaxation that we are able to go deeper in yoga. Deep physical relaxation is found in savasana, the final 
resting pose. However, mentally, the mind is being soothed throughout practice. If the practice is approached by 
trying “too hard” or wanting to accomplish, then the profound sense of relaxation and letting go is not going to 
happen.

 You’ve probably come upon this principle in other areas of life. Letting go allows abundance and exerting 
too much self-will is ultimately limiting. Relaxing into practice and agreeing to be fully present will break down 
resistance and create freedom on all levels. As you move along, restorative yoga is incredible and the practice of 
Yoga Nidra (yogi sleep) is profound and sublime. 

 Learn what exerting great effort and feeling comfortable feels like at the same time! Contact me to learn more 
and be introduced to the practices that have the potential to change your life. keely@keelytotten.com. 

Love and Namaste,

Keely Totten, E-RYT 500, Yoga & Meditation Teacher, An Earnest Practitioner of Letting Go

THE MISSING PAGE

Real Life Tips from LIfe's Instruction Manual


Lori A. Harris

A MEDITATION ON GRATITUDE

Our moods are reflections of our temporary emotional states, often driven by outside 
circumstances. Sometimes it is difficult not to be affected by interactions with people or 
conditions, but we alone are responsible for our happiness, and there are things we can 
do to lift our moods.

 First, take responsibility for your attitude. If there is room for improvement, take 
action. The quickest jumpstart activity to lift your spirits is to dwell in gratitude. Don't 
wait for something to happen to be appreciative, generate gratitude. Consider your very 
life.

 The likelihood of being born at this time, place and circumstance is approximately--- 1 
in 400,000, 000,000! Can you believe it? The odds of coming into this life is one in four 
hundred trillion. For every one of us! Now that's a reason to be grateful. 

 Notice your breath. Without effort on your part, you are breathed. Your breath 
animates every part of your body, your brain, your beautiful heart all the way down to 
your toes. Take a deep breath, fill your lungs and notice how your whole body tingles enjoying more of the life 
force moving through your body.

 Notice your eyes. Think about how your eyes help you to navigate the world, to have pleasure, and to appreciate 
your life more fully. 

 Now take a moment to stand in nature. Look at the sky and appreciate the clouds, the color of the sky, are there 
trees near you? Notice the lacework of the leaves. The view you are experiencing is uniquely yours. No one else 
is standing in precisely the same spot you are. Get up for sunrise; there is one being designed just for you outside 
your window.

 It's a brand new day. This day has never been lived before, let's cherish it.

 Lori A. Harris is a lawyer and coach. You can get more gratitude journal prompts from her free app Gratitude 
Train in the App Store and Google Play.

“The Mount Wilson Trail Race is the second oldest trail 
race in California; first held in 1908 when runners raced 
to Mt. Wilson, rested half an hour, then raced back 
down and only a very few intrepid runners attempted it. 
The race was held sporadically from 1908 until the late 
1940’s – early 1950’s when it was abandoned completely. 
Organized by a volunteer committee and sponsored by 
our fair city, Sierra Madre, the current race is 8.6 miles 
in length. The exact course has been changed by erosion, 
fires and earthquakes, but is lovingly maintained by 
some amazing guys who wield shovels, move boulders, 
avoid the occasional bear, and just generally keep the 
trail in good shape.” That was mostly from the Mt. 
Wilson Trail Race web page, except for that last part 
about the guys who keep the trail in good shape. 

 My best friend and trail race aficionado, John, and I 
spent many years on Trail Race day walking downtown 
to grab a cup of coffee at Beantown, visit with friends, 
look at all the goodies on display and available for 
purchase on Kersting Court, be awed and astonished 
by whatever young person was delivering the National 
Anthem, watch the runners take off, enjoy the little 
kids’ races, and hang out till the first runners returned 
in some astonishingly fast time, usually around an hour. 
This year is different for me. John is watching the race 
from heaven – which brings to mind that great verse 
from Hebrews...

 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so 
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, 
and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run 
with endurance the race that is set before us.” Heb. 
12:1 and I just couldn’t do all that without him. So, I 
walked down to St. Rita’s and joined the crowd of folks 
standing there ready to cheer on the runners as they 
raced by. Folks, it’s a pretty steep run just from the start 
up to Alegria and a lot of these runners were already 
breathing heavy and most of the faces showed grim 
determination. However, one lovely woman smiled 
at me and said, “Good morning!” as she jogged past. 
The last couple of guys, a ways behind the pack, were 
smiling. One waved and I assured him he was going 
to have a beautiful morning. He let me know he was 
already having a beautiful morning. The very last guy 
said, “Say, have you seen a bunch of runners go by 
here!!” and I assured him he was the very first one. 
These guys were just out there doing it for the joy of 
doing it. 

 One of my favorite columns in the Pasadena Star 
News on Saturdays is “Gardening” by Joshua Siskin. 
This week Joshua let us know that, “The fruits of our 
labors in the garden don’t come easily.” I had to laugh 
as he got it exactly right and I’ll quote him here for you, 
in case you didn’t see it: “The Garden of Eden was the 
only truly low-maintenance garden in human history 
and Adam and Eve were kicked out of there. Ever since 
Eden, to be a farmer or a gardener has meant toil and 
sweat and even blood in the event you have a lot of roses 
to prune.” 

 My roses have been producing some incredibly large, 
fragrant beauties and my Epiphylums are covered with 
huge purple or orange blooms. These utterly delight 
me as they are growing from cuttings my Dad gave me 
years ago. I shared cuttings from these with son-in-
law, Chuck, and his Epiphylums are even bigger than 
mine! The roses are doing all they can to impress me so 
that I will forget about what happens in summer when 
spider mites attack and they all begin to look like death 
warmed over. 

 I planted a pink petunia in the same pot with a nice 
pink geranium and that petunia is growing out of the 
pot, over the side and heading for the deck. All our 
plants are loving May Gray, aren’t they. I’m not all that 
wild about it but the sun is supposed to shine again 
starting next week. 

 Tomorrow, Sunday, May 27th, our daughter, Crissy, 
and our two little Texas girls, Jessie and Emily, will 
arrive for a visit! They aren’t Texas girls anymore, as the 
family has moved to Goodyear, Arizona and now are 
just five or so hours away. Could I be any happier? No! 
Will let you know all about our adventures next week. 
They want to go to the beach and, our traditional trip 
to P.F. Chang’s is first on their itinerary. We all love the 
steamed dumplings there. And, speaking of steamed 
dumplings, have you been to Din Tai Fung in the mall? 
It’s upstairs close to Nordstrom and when they open at 
11 a.m., there’s already a line waiting. It’s a lovely place, 
with friendly, helpful wait staff and fantastic dumplings! 
Have a wonderful week and enjoy your roses. 

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

 Kindle books of all sorts and hardcover “Tablespoon 
of Love” are on there, as is “Star of Wonder.”

 Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a 
look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd


SIERRA MADRE SUPER SUMMER BEGINS JUNE 9 

AT THE SIERRA MADRE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Activities for all ages Be part of the fun of the Sierra 
Madre Super Summer starting on Saturday, June 9. Pick 
up your passport at the Library or at any City event and 
get your passport stamped by reading, attending events, 
shopping local, and by visiting City landmarks. 

Start your summer fun with these events: Make Your 
Own Summer Flower Pin Create fun fabric flower pins 
with the Library Adult Crafters group at 10:00 am in the 
Library. Simple stitches and squares of fabric create a 
seasonal pins to wear throughout the season. Reading 
Buddies Prevent summer slide with this reading 
opportunity for children. High school volunteers will 
read with children ages five through nine at the Library 
to help them maintain reading skills over the summer. 
Starting June 9 from 10:00 am to noon. Enjoy Classical 
Guitar Music with Andre Giraldo Enjoy an hour of 
classical guitar music from around the world at 3:00 pm 
at the Library with Andre Giraldo, an LA based classical 
guitarist. Read, Discover, Connect @ Sierra Madre 
Public Library, 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre, 
CA 91024, (626) 355-7186, Text (626) 662-1254, www.
cityofsierramadre.com/services/library


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com